Journal box lid



1959 e. F. COUCH JOURNAL BOX m0 Filed July 16. 1957 FIG. 2

lnventqrz Glenn E Couch 3 G I F.

FIG. 4

his At'rqrney JOURNAL BOX LID Glenn F. Couch, Bergen, N.Y., assignor to Symington Wayne Corporation Application July 16, 1957, Serial No. 672,155 Claims. (Cl. 308-47) This invention relates to an improvement in journal box lids.

Journal box lids for closing access openings in journal boxes commonly employ a spring which reacts against the journal box in exerting the pressure by which the lid is held tight against the face of the box about the opening. Due to the strength of its spring, a lid would be difficult to apply and remove if, during these operations, the spring were free to react with full force against the journal box. It therefore is the practice to provide such a lid with restraining means for temporarily holding the journal box reacting portion of the spring in retracted position in the lid so that at such times it can exert only a small, readily manageable force against the journal box, thus facilitating insertion and removal of a pintle pin by which the lid is hingedly connectable to the journal box. Heretofore, the association of the restraining means and lid has been such as to require the restraining means to be removed manually after the lid has been applied. If this is overlooked by a careless workman, the result has been that, until the carelessness is discovered, a lid so installed is incapable of closing efiectively the access opening in the journal box against the entry of dirt and other foreign matter with consequent likelihood of a hot box.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improvement in journal box lids whereby the temporary restraining means, if accidentally left in place after a lid is installed, under service shocks will automatically release the spring so that the latter can exert 'its full force to hold the lid in closed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improvement in journal box lids whereby a temporary restraining means accidentally left in place not only will automatically release the spring when subjected to service shocks but Will be dislodged by these same shocks exteriorly from the lid without danger of dropping into the journal box.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improvement in journal box lids wherein a temporary restraining pin is so associated with a lid that the pin, while eifectively held in spring restraining position during installation and removal of the lid, will be released automatically under service shocks to release the spring and under the same shocks will be ejected exteriorly from the lid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a journal box lid embodying a preferred form of the improvement of the present in vention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the lid of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale of the upper portion of the lid showing its relation with a journal box during installation and removal.

atent 2,900,212 Patented Aug. 18, 1959 Referring now in detail to the drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts, the improvement of the present invention, while applicable to journal box lids in general, has been applied for purposes of illustration to a conventional journal box of the articulated type. The illustrated journal box lid has a cover 1 for seating against a face 2 of a journal box 3 about an access open ing 4 therein. Articulatedly connected to the cover 1, as by a bridge member 5 fixed thereto, is a hood 6. In the hood 6 is housed a torsion spring 7 having spaced upper legs 8 which will usually be connected at their upper extremities by an integral connecting or cross rod 9 reacting against a hinge lug 10 or a wear plate 11 fixed thereto, the legs 8 here reacting through a roller 12 carried by the cross rod 9 and directly engaging the wear plate 11. The coils or coil portion 13 of the torsion spring 7 seat in the usual concavity in the hood 6 and the lower legs 14 of the disclosed spring act on the cover 1 at either side of the bridge member 5.

The hood 6 is adapted to be hingedly connected to the journal box 3 by a pintle or hinge pin 15 projecting through a pintle pin opening 16 in the hinge lug 10 and aligned openings 17 in either side of the hood 6, the latter here being formed in ears 18 at opposite sides and outstanding from the side walls 19 of the hood. When so connected, and in the closed position shown in Figure 3, the lid will have its cover 1 held tight against the front face 2 of the journal box by the pressure of the torsion spring 7, the latter reacting through its upper legs 8 against the hinge lug 10 and acting outwardly through its coils 13 on the hood 6 and inwardly through its lower legs 14 on the cover, with the actual closing pressure the difference between these outward and inward forces.

The pressure of the upper legs 8 of the spring 7 against the hinge lug 10 is the source of the difiiculty in applying and removing the lid, since the full pressure is too great to enable the hood to be forced manually inwardly suificient to align the openings 16 and 17 to receive the pintle pin 15. In accordance with the improvement of the present invention, the upper legs 8 of the torsion spring 7 constituting its upper end or lugor journal box-reacting portion are not only temporarily held in retracted position, so as to enable the holes 16 and 17 to be aligned for ready insertion and removal of the pintle pin 15, but the restraining or retaining means by which the spring is so held is associated with the lid such that under service shocks it will automatically be disengaged to release the spring and be ejected exteriorly from the cover.

The restraining means for the spring 7 might be a pair of pins or even a single U-shaped pin inserted through the top wall 20 of the hood 6 to underlie and force outwardly the upper portion of the torsion spring, with a spring or springs under compression and acting outwardly on the pin or pins to eject the restraining means from the top of the 'hood when momentarily released by a service shock from the pressure of the torsion spring. However, it is preferred to employ as the restraining means a single pin 21 which may be in the form of a common nail adapted to extend horizontally through aligned apertures 22 in the side walls 19 of the hood 6 or, as in the disclosed embodiment, in inward ofisets or projections 23 of the side walls. In a conventional lid fitted with such a restraining pin, the apertures 22 are circular with the consequence that the pin, so long as it remains in the hood, is disposed to hold the upper portion of the torsion spring in retracted position.

In accordance with this invention, the apertures 22 for receiving the restraining pin 21 have seats 24 facing the upper portion or legs 8 of the torsion opening 6 which, when the restraining pin is seated therein, enable the pin to hold the upper portion of the torsion spring in retracted position. However, in addition to these seats 24, the apertures 22 projector are'elongatedfrom their seat portions in a direction-away from the path of movement of the upper legs 8, here both inwardly and downwardly, to provide pockets 25 w herein the restraining pin will both fit loosely andbe-free of} the pressure ofthetorsion spring; In-the preferred form-of theapertures 22'; the

seats 24 are concave outwardlyfacing sockets formed-onthe inner walls 26 of theapertures- -22' and the pockets 25- are disposed below and extend somewhat inwardlyof th'e seats 24 sothat'the restrainingpincandrop -by-gravity from the seats-into the pocketswhen momentarilyre lieved of the pressure of the torsion spring 7 by a service shock. Then seating loosely in the-pockets 25; the restraining-pinwill be ejected from a side of -the*hood-6-by the sameor asubsequent service shock;

From the above detailed description; it will be apparent that while elfectiveinitially, When-seated-in-the seats 24 in the apertures, to retract-the upper-portionof the tor sionspring 7 for ready application and removal of'the lid, the restraining pin 21, when momentarily relieved of the pressure of the torsion spring willdrop; fromthe seats into the pckets'25 and ultimately be ejectedexteriorly from the lid, thus automatically releasingthefullforce of thetorsionspring 7. Consequently, with the improvement of the present invention, a lid, if not initially made tight by manualremovalof the spring restraining means, will automatically be-put in that condition by -theshocks to which itis subjected in service; It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of-the invention'and that-all modifications are intendedto be included which do not depart from eitherthe spirit "of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having described'my invention, I claim:

1. In a journal box lid having a spring reacting against a journal box for holding the lid-in engagementwith the journalbox about anaccess opening therein, the improvement comprising temporary restraining means seatable in seat means in said lid for limiting. the pressure exertable by said spring *against'said'journal box, and means asso ciated with said-seat means for effecting automatic, unseating of said restraining means and ejection thereof from said lid under service'shocks thereby to release the full pressure of said spring.

2. In a journal box lid'having a spring reactingagainst a journal box for holding the lid in engagement with the journal box about anaccess opening therein, the. improvement comprising temporary restrainingmeans insertible in a seat in said lid for limiting the, pressureexertable by said spring against said journal box, and means in said lid and connected to said seat for effecting automatic unseating of said restraining means and ejection thereof from said lid under service shocks thereby to-release the full pressure of said spring.

3. In a journal box lid having a spring reacting against a journal box for holding the lid in engagement with the journal box about an access opening therein, the improvement comprising aligned apertures in said lid inwardly of a journal box reacting portion of said spring, a temporary restraining pin insertible through said apertures, seats in each of said apertures and facing said reacting portion for initially holding said pin in a position to engage and limit theforce exertable by said upper portion against said journal box, and pockets in said apertures and disposed relative-to said seats in a direction away from the path of movement/oi said upper portion for loosely receiving said pin in.a positionspaced .from said upper portion, said apertures being effective under service shocks automatically to receive saidpin in said pockets on unseating thereof from said seats and permit ejection of said pin from said lid.

4. In a journal box lid, the combination with a cover,

a hood articulatedly connected .to said'coverand atorsion spring housed in said hood and having an upper portion adapted to react against a hinge lug on a journalbox, of a temporary restraining pin; aligned apertures in side Walls of said hood, each of said apertures having a seat for receiving said pin in a position to engage and limit the force exertable by said upperportion of said spring on said hinge lug, and pockets in said apertures below said-seats:andfdisposed out'of the path of movement'of said-upper portion for loosely receiving said pin when .unseated from said seats, said apertures being effective under service shocks for automatically unseating-and'ejecting said pin from a side of said hood thereby to free said upper portion to-exerhfull force against'said hinge, lug.

5.- In a journal boxlid, the combination with a:cover, athood articulatedly connected to said cover and a torsionspring housed in said hood and having an upper-portion adapted to react against a hinge lug on a journal box, of a temporary restraining pin, elongated apertures in side walls of saidhood, each of said apertures having a'seat for receiving said'pin in a position to engage and'limit the force exertable by said'upper portion of saidspring on said hinge lug, and pockets in said apertures below said seats and disposed out of the path ofmovement of said upper portion for loosely receiving said pin when unseated from said seats, said apertures being effective under service shocks for automatically unseating and: ejecting said pin from-a side of said hood thereby to free said upper portion to exert fiull force against said hinge lug.

References-Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,621,986 Stewart Dec; 16, 1952 

